Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Comedy > Drama > The Dog Problem (2007)

The Dog Problem (2007)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Film: C

 

 

Scott Caan has been putting around, not making much of an impact as an actor and though there is a career there, no risks have meant no major accomplishments.  Now, he is trying to direct and The Dog Problem (2007) marks a mixed debut that is not just another disposable work like so many he has appeared in (and he acts in this one, though maybe he should have decided not to) and the overall result is much like Caan’s career: greatness constantly misses by being too laid back.

 

That is when he relies on the actors, who are really trying to show their support for him by giving him really good work, but the film inadvertently and suddenly feels like it is on auto pilot and though it has some good moments, never really works.  Caan’s screenplay (for which he takes sole credit) is littered with clichés and jokes that might have been funny back in the 1970s when they were original (the gal dog owner lead character (played by) Giovanni Ribisi is interested in works at a strip club) and create a tired atmosphere.  Kevin Corrigan, Lynn Collins, Mena Suvari and Don Cheadle also star.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is shot in HD and you can tell but image hazing and other flaws in this tradedown.  Color is consistent enough and the set up is not bad overall, shot by Director of Photography Phil Parmet taking a break from genre work for a change.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is really stretching out the original sound out thin.  You can hear the jokes and dialogue, then wish you had not.  At least Mark Mothersbaugh’s score is not bad.  The only extras include deleted scenes, behind the scenes and a separate making of featurette.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com